Ladies 50's Luncheon at ICC's Winter Ignite

What's that you said??? A ladies luncheon??? I haven't a thing to wear!

(The 50's Ladies Luncheon. Sweet! Let's get started with a little 50's lingo!)

No threads to wear? Well, maybe this lady could help you get in the mix with some lid advice :).

Gotta be hip with the grooviest peepers!

Have you picked out a sharp set of earth pads yet?

Time to get all dolled up!

We set a cool blanket . . .

. . . and some rockin' bee sticks.

Cast an eyeball on these getups :).

The joint was cranked!

Zoot suits were far out!

Hip cats dug the vibes. (Hahahaha! Mrs. Moon is a hip cat :))

Hangin' with the cool cats!

These two rocked a little jitterbug.

Everyone had a blast at the bash! It was like, crazy man!

In Honor of the Seuss :) Happy Late Birthday!

[Via: 30 Dr. Seuss Quotes to Live By]

I certainly should have posted this on March 2nd, Dr. Seuss' actual birthday, but I just found it today :).
Great quotes for scrapbooking, journaling, inspiration. Thought for today?
#7 Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So ... get on your way!
And have a great day!

I Had a Birthday This Week

My birthday was this week. Another year older. Seems like just yesterday I had a birthday, too. Strange how they seem to be coming faster.

As you already know, Garfield is my favorite comic strip. It has been since June, 1978, when Jim Davis started publishing the strip. I moved away from my parents' hometown in October,1982. Every day from then until my dad died in December, 2005, Dad would cut the Garfield comic out of the newspaper and either save them for me, or occasionally I would receive a card in the mail filled with Garfield strips cut from mom and dad's newspaper. For years I kept them stashed in a huge box.

Well, that was more than I planned to tell you when I started this - haha!. I guess that kind of proves the point of this strip :). Wait. Was there a point? Oh yeah, I had a birthday and can totally relate to this comic today, having grown old with Garfield, I thought it was fitting.

Pansies Are Her Favorites

My mom's favorite flower is the pansy. She used to grow them in her yard, in every color.
These particular pansies were at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
I began by sizing the photo in photoshop and reducing any noise. Voila! You have the first photo.
Then I used the Pioneer Woman's free action set #2, ran the Strawberry Fields action, and ran the faded edges action.
This is what you see in the second photo.




My mom would love to see these pansies first hand, but she's going to have to be happy with just my photos.
I think she will like these, almost as well :).

Shout For Joy

Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”

Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds for mankind!
He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
Come, let us rejoice in him.

He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.

Praise our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
He has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.

For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.
You let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.

Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.

If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.

Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!

Psalm 66:1-12, 16-20 (NIV)

All photos were taken at the Episcopal Church of the
Incarnation in Highlands, North Carolina, in December, 2010.

Hoggetown Medieval Faire, 2011

My children and I have always loved going to the medieval faire as it rolls through town each year. Personally, I love all the costumes and pageantry, but I really enjoy seeing all the people that come to the faire in costume. For some, it's a magical day.

Once we got inside, we were drawn to the beat of the music, four men and one woman beating away on drums and playing a bagpipe, as if their lives depended on it. They had drawn a large crowd - the pounding of the drums was almost hypnotic as it pulled us in.

There were a lot of interesting characters throughout the park. I found it funny that even though they were dressed in period costumes, many of them also wore sunglasses - haha!

I was also amazed at how many of them didn't have all their teeth!

There were also beautiful ladies on horseback. Isn't the horse beautiful as well? Just needs a slight trim on those bangs. Poor baby!

Wandering minstrels . . .

. . . including this one. Her music was beautiful!

And she very kindly posed for me :) so I was happy! There were only about a couple hundred photographers there, so I was pleased!


I totally took this photo for Phil and Devin - the two best jugglers I know! Actually, I took about 6 pictures, but people kept walking in front of my camera, so I just gave up. Sorry, guys!

This was your basic gypsy lady. One who didn't want her face in the picture.

And then a couple peddlar/gypsies that didn't mind having their picture taken. (Actually, I loved her horse! Where can I get one? No feeding, no mucking, no brushing, no worming, you get the idea.)

I love me a good dragon story! So of course I was drawn to these wonderful dragons!

I liked the way they were holding things in their hands.

And there were lots of beautiful things to look at, enjoy, and buy if you wanted to.

I loved these little oil bottles. Just didn't have a need for one. Too bad.

And let me just tell you, Kali has had a few of these over the years!

The Hoggetown Medieval Faire will be held again next weekend. So, if you haven't been yet, you should go! It's definitely worth the trip and the time!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Last week, Kali and I headed to Orlando where we spent the afternoon in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I had been waiting for a long time to visit the park. This was our first glimpse - the Hogwart's Express at platform nine and three quarters.




This was an interesting sign in the station. Check out the last two lines.

From there you step straight into Hogsmeade. To the left you see Zonko's Joke Shop and Honeydukes. There is also a butterbeer cart straight ahead. They were actually selling pumpkin juice on this particular day.

The shops were most interesting. This one was Dervish and Banges, a shop that services and repairs magical equipment. In this case, they also carried quidditch supplies and uniforms.


We found this lady from Flourish and Blotts walking around with the Monster Book of Monsters. It really snapped at our hands!

This was outside Dervish and Banges. I am wondering if the keeper's vest in the window is the actual one Rupert Grint wore as Ron in the 5th movie (I think it was the 5th) when he was Gryffindor's keeper.

Kali is checking out the Owl Post. It wasn't an open store for us to look in, but the windows were filled with all kinds of interesting things to look at!


Including a howler!

The rest of the street.

Then we came to the crossroads. Hogsmeade behind us and the Hogwarts Castle in front of us. That tiny triple tower you see in the middle, attached to the largest spire, is the Divination Tower where Professor Trelawney taught her classes.

Hagrid's house is tucked in behind The Flight of the Hippogriff ride. The employees were kind enough to let me walk back there and take pictures. Mostly you only see this from the ride, but I don't do rides well, so they let me wander on back there.

A side view with one of Hagrid's huge pumpkins.


Out in front of Hagrid's house is this huge nest with Buckbeak seated in it. He is animated and moves. You can also hear Fang barking from inside the house.

The Flight of the Hippogriff was Kali's favorite thing there.


First good glimpse of the castle.


The entrance to Hogwarts.

These huge winged hogs were on either side of the entrance. I don't remember them from the books, or the movies, but I'm sure they must be there. I just don't have any idea what they are called. (Brings to mind the saying: when pigs fly - haha!)

Could we interest you in a tour of the castle? There is a simulator inside, and those just make me sick. So, we did the castle tour instead.

Professor Dumbledore's office. All the photos of past headmasters would be along the stairs to the left and right of this photo. Climbing the stairs to get to this location gave us a view of many of the moving portraits, including ones of Godrick Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin - who were all having a heated discussion.

The pensieve where Dumbledore and Harry so many times reviewed collected memories.

Back on the street, we found a pumpkin juice cart with assorted enchanted drinks.

I wish I had gotten one of these.

Potage's Cauldron Shop.

The Hog's Head Pub - Professor Dumbledore's brother Aberforth is the proprietor. This is where Professor Trelawney revealed the prophecy to Professor Dumbledore; where Hagrid wins Norbert in a gambling match; where Dumbledore's Army had its first meeting; and behind this door over the bar is where the students were evacuated in book 7, and where the Order of the Phoenix and other fighters gained access to the castle. Technically it should have a portrait of Adriana on it, but it doesn't.

Skyline shot.

Welcome to Zonko's Joke Shop. See if you recognize any of the toys in the window.

The Honeydukes' staff. Doesn't the fellow on the left look like a Weasley?

The pink, fluffy cotton candy is called Candyfloss. Hermione sent some to her parents - the dentists :). The boxes hold Salt Water Taffy.

Chocolate Cauldrons are located top right. Treacle Tarts are to the far left, next to Hagrid's Rock Cakes.

Front left you have Crystallized Pineapple - Slughorn's favorite.

Top row - Exploding Bon Bons; middle row - Professor Dumbledore's Lemon Drops; and bottom right - Peppermint Straws. I bought the peppermint straws and they were delicious!

Kali's favorite - Chocolate Frogs! And they came with a card inside - just like in the book :).


Awesome Honeydukes' ladies :).

Remember when Harry used the marauder's map and his invisibility cloak to sneak into Hogsmeade? He used the tunnels and entered through the basement of Honeydukes. This is the staircase he climbed to enter the store.

Cool, cool shop! I spent $68.00 on candy so I could bring home stuff for everybody - haha! And it's all been delivered and handed out already.

I think this sign was outside the Three Broomsticks. Sirius Black really moved and looked around - just like in the movie.

We kept hearing crying noises as we walked through Hogsmeade. We finally came across Slugg and Jiggers Apothecary, which carried potions and potions ingredients. This baby mandrake was being pulled from its pot - and you could hear it crying throughout the park.

Employees from the Owl Post. What a cool and fun job they have!


The Frog Choir. They walked through the park, carrying their frogs. Pretty nifty!

A wand cart on the street. Anyone could try out the wands and purchase whichever wand chose you. Here are some I found interesting:

Dumbledore's wand.

Voldemort's wand.

Harry Potter's wand.

Ron Weasley's wand.

Hermione Granger's wand.

Located in one of the stores, this is Bellatrix Lestrange's death eaters' mask.

Just a couple last shots of the town.

And the castle.

I think the designers and builders did an incredible job reproducing the wizarding world of Harry and his friends. I had a great visit there, just wandering around shooting loads of pictures. I can't wait to go back. I just have to save up some more money for Honeydukes - hahaha!